Police looking for suspects after shooting that wounded two children

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Police looking for suspects after shooting that wounded two children

INDIANAPOLIS (March 18, 2015) – Detectives are following leads and asking for the public’s help in finding at least two suspects in a late night shooting that left two young children wounded on the east side of Indianapolis.

Indianapolis Metro Police responded to a call about shots fired in the 2100 block of Kenyon Street just after 11:00pm Tuesday. Officers found bullet holes through several windows on the side of a house. Then they found a 7-year-old girl and her 6-year-old brother suffering injuries that were consistent with gunshot wounds.

“Next thing I know, I just hear seven or eight gunshots,” said Jaron Colllier, who lives three doors down. “You could see the flashes through the back window.”

Moments after the gunshots, Collier heard the aftermath.

“Just kids crying,” he said. “It was kids crying. And you could see them loading the kids up into the ambulance and things like that. It was just horrible man.”

Police say the girl was hit in the lower leg. Her brother was hit in the foot. Both children were last listed in good condition at Riley Hospital.

Investigators believe the shooters were standing outside a vehicle when they fired multiple shots into the house.

“The suspect information, as we have it now, are potentially two males that fired multiple shots into the residence and fled in a vehicle,” said IMPD Lt. Richard Riddle.

That vehicle may be a red Ford Explorer, although detectives in the neighborhood say they have taken conflicting vehicle descriptions from different people.

Detectives spent Wednesday morning and afternoon searching for possible motives for the shooting. That part of the investigation includes looking into the backgrounds of the children’s parents, who were inside the house at the time of the shooting.

“Our detectives are following up on some information they have received about that location and will figure out if that information is related to the shooting last night,” Riddle said. “They know that this house was targeted for a reason. We don’t know that reason at this point.”

Several neighbors say the parents and their children just moved into the house on Kenyon Street within the last couple weeks.

An independent search of police records shows the father of the children has been shot before. An IMPD incident report from last November says he was transported by a family member to Methodist Hospital with a gunshot wound. He also has multiple arrests involving drug dealing and possession, domestic battery and other disturbances dating back more than ten years.

“He’s no stranger to law enforcement,” said one detective investigating the shooting.

Riddle said investigators are looking into the backgrounds of both parents, but could not say if any of their history is directly related to Tuesday night’s shooting.

“It’s very unfortunate any time a small child, especially 7 and 6 years old are the victims of crimes in which adults are the intended targets,” Riddle said.

Child Protective Services will also be involved in the case.

Anyone with information that could help catch the suspects in Tuesday night’s shooting should call Crime Stoppers at (317) 262-TIPS.